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Sunday, February 11, 2007

It's Been a Big Grammy Weekend for Our Own Nominee, Maria

Above, Maria shows off her Grammy Nominee medallion at last night's nominee reception.

The event, held at the Wilshire Ebell, is one of the highlights for the nominees. There's a energy to the crowd, made up of Grammy noms and their guests, as pictures are taken, food and drink are consumed, musicians perform and strangers with medallions around their neck excitedly talk to other strangers with medallions around their neck (a popular question: "What are you nominated for?")

We wound up talking for a while to someone nominated in the Best Children's Album category. We ran into Daniel Ho -- the Hawaiian musician and record label owner, up for another Hawaiian Music Grammy. The sightings were all over the map: "Weird Al" Yankovic passed right by us, as did Joan Baez.

Maria gets her portrait taken

Maria's category -- Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package -- will be awarded sometime during the pre-show ceremony (where most of the 108 categories are handed out) at the Los Angeles Convention Center between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. We'll then swing across the street to the Staples Center for the big telecast, which this year kicks off with the much-hyped reunion of The Police.

Here's what Maria's up against:

Keep your fingers crossed! I think Maria's got a good shot. As you may remember, her "Girl Groups Sounds: Lost and Found" box set has earned several sweet notices since being released at the beginning of last year; including this mention in Print magazine: